Aeroplane.



H. 001mm.

AEROPLANE.

APPLIOATION FILED DI*]O.18 1913.

1, 1 04,347, PatentedJuly 21, 1914.

WITNESSES.

III

pair

TA'i ENT OFFICE.

HORACE CORBIN, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JACOB C. HALM, JR., OF TOLEDO, OHIO.

AEROPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 21, 1914.

Application filed December 18, 1913. Serial No. 807,427.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HORACE ConBIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Aeroplane; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to aeroplanes.

It particularly relates to a safety means, whereby in case of accident the plane w1ll readily and easily alight to the ground.

In the embodiment of my lnventlon, means is provided, whereby the center of sustainment or suspension of the aeroplane may be raised considerably above the center I of gravity of the plane and its load. By my invention a means is provided for allowing the wings to swing upward upon the operation of a simple mechanical release. It is particularly applicable in times of unexpected danger or confusion.

The invention may be contained in a number of constructions. It may be applied to monoplanes, biplanes and other aerial craft and apparatus. I have selected one of such constructions as an example of constructions embodying the invention, and will describe it hereinafter to show the manner in which the invention may be applied and how the construction to which it is applied may be operated.

The construction selected is illustrated in the drawing, in which,

Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a part of an aeroplane in which my invention is embodied. Fig. 2 is a side View of a part of the aeroplane shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 illustrates an end view'of one of the details shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 illustrates conventionally the manner in which the aeroplane may be permitted to fall to the ground.

Referring to Fig. 1, 1 and 2 are the wings of the aeroplane. They are supported by the frames 3 which are trussed by the usual compression and tension members to hold the wings 1 and 2 in place. 4 is an inside or supporting frame. The engine and rudder, the elevator and other controlling apparatus are supported or connected to the frame 4. The frame 4 is box shape having the vertical members 5 and the horizontal members 6.

The parts of the frame 4 and the parts of the .frame 3 are secured together by means of corner irons 8. The upper corner irons 8 of the frames 3 and 4 are provided with ears 9 through which bolts 10 pass. The bolts 10 pivotally connect frames together. The lower corner irons 8 of the frames 3 and 4 are provided with ears 11. Engaging devices 12, extend into openings located in the ears 11. The engaging devices may be formed of fingers 12 secured to horizontal side members or rods 13 located on each side of the lower end of the frame 4. The fingers 12 extend through the ears 11. The rods 13 slide in openings in the cars 14 which form a part of the corner irons 8. A rod 15 extends across the lower elevator rods 16 located in front of the seat 30, which may be positioned at any point along the horizontal bar 6 of the lower front edge of the frame 4. The rod 15 is journaled in the corner irons 8, which secure the front and lower corners of the frame 4. Rocking arms 17 extend down from the rod 15 to the rods 13. They produce horizontally longitudinal movements in the rods 13.

A lever 20 may be secured at one end of the rod 15 to rock the rod 15 in order to cause sliding movements of the members 13. The lever 20 is provided with a handle 21 and also with an engaging lever 22, which is adapted to drop into a notch formed in an ear 23 located on the corner bracket 8. The lever 22 is pivoted to the lever 20 and is operated by a thumb push button 25, which is connected to a spring actuated rod 26. The compression spring 27 operates to lift the lever 22 and the rod 26 and holds the lever 24 in looking position in the ear 23.

In case of some unexpected accident, such as in case the engine stops running or in time of confusion, the handle 21 may be pulled forward, when the push rod 26 is operated. This will pull the fingers 12 out of the ears 11. The pressure of the air on the side wings will cause the Wings to turn about the pivots 10 and the supporting frame 4 will fall relative to the wings a short distance until it is limited in its relative movement by the chain 28, which is secured to the lower adjoining corners of the frames 3 and 4. The wings will thus raise the center of sustainment well above the center of gravity and cause the aeroplane to act like a parachute in supporting the weight of the aeroplane together with its load. It will therefore descend to the ground slowly and without injury to the operator and the mechanism.

In order to prevent the upper plane from receiving too much of the load, canvas or other sheet material 29 may be interposed between the lower adjoining corners of the frames 3 and 4. The canvas will thus form a joining web which will prevent the air from rushing in between the upper and lower planes and will thus prevent too great action on the upper planes.

The construction selected and described may be greatly varied in the arrangements and connections of its parts and in the substitution of elements having equivalent functions without departing from the spirit of the invention which is described in the claims in the language of the elements shown.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is,-

1. In an aeroplane, the combination of a supporting frame, wings pivoted to the supporting frame, the said wings and frame having eyes, fingers adapted to be inserted in the eyes for locking the parts in position, and means for operating the fingers.

2. In an aeroplane, the combination of a supporting frame, wings pivoted to the supporting frame, the frame and wings having eyes, side members having fingers adapted to be inserted in the eyes to lock the wings in position, and means for operating the side members.

3. In an aeroplane, the combination of a supporting frame, wings pivoted to the supporting frame, the frame and wings having copiel of thin patent may be obtained for eyes, side members having fingers adapted to be inserted in the eyes to lock the wmgs in position, a rocking-bar connected to the side members, and a lever for operating the rocking-bar to release the said means.

4. In an aeroplane, the combination of a supporting frame, wings pivoted to the supporting frame, the frame and wings having eyes, side members having fingers adapted to be inserted in the eyes to lock the wings in position, .a rocking-bar connected to the side members, a lever for operating the rockingbar to release the said means, and a flexible means for limiting the movement of the wings with respect to the supporting frame.

5. In an aeroplane, the combination of a supporting frame, wings pivoted to the supporting frame, the frame and wings having eyes, side members having fingers adapted to be inserted in the eyes to lock the wings in position, a rocking-bar connect-ed to release the said means, and webs for spreading the open space formed between the wings and the supporting frame.

6. In an aeroplane, the combination of a supporting frame, wings pivoted to the supporting frame, the frame and wings having eyes, side members having fingers adapted to be inserted in the eyes to lock the wings in position, a rocking-bar connected to the side members, a lever for operating the rocking-bar to release the said means, webs for spreading the open space formed between the Wings and the supporting frame, and a flexible connection for limiting the movements of the wings with respect to the supporting frame.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HORACE CORBIN.

Witnesses:

P. D. IVAGNER, S. T. KLo'rz.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0. 

